


The Long Journey

by MindTrove



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Adventure, Implied Relationships, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, Shenanigans, mages on the run
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-21
Updated: 2016-09-21
Packaged: 2018-08-16 12:42:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,851
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8102809
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MindTrove/pseuds/MindTrove
Summary: Pharaan is an Enchanter of the former Ansburg Circle. After the mage uprising, he along with other Loyalist Mages must find there way to Skyhold. The only safe place left in Thedas for his kind.
Along the way he meets a dwarf named Buckles, who agrees to help him and his party get to Skyhold safely. Buckles was never a fan of banditry, the arrangment was perfect!
Certainly the simple task of toiling across the Free Marches, crossing an entire ocean and taking the the exceedingly long path through the south won't be too difficult.Would it?





	

**Author's Note:**

> Just a little something I'm doing for fun with a friend!
> 
> Unless people really like this, chapters will be done when they can be without any pressure. I just felt like sharing the ideas me and a friend have been having and hope you like it!

Buckles belongs to [Suketchilt! Go check out her stuff!](http://suketchilt.tumblr.com/)

* * *

“I can’t believe this is really happening…”

“Come now Evie, we must keep moving.”

There were only five of them together here, mages still loyal to the circles. There were others in the distance, ones that Pharaan could see scurrying to get away from their home, no longer habitable after the uprising from within.

_It was not as dramatic as Kirkwall, or Starkhaven. Ansburg did not burn to the ground, nor did it suffer a catastrophe by a lone mage hell-bent on abolishing the Circles for good. But they, and anyone else who had lived in that tower would look upon it now and feel the grim and dark aura that now permeated its very stones._

_Knew the innocent that lay dead within its halls, the knowledge stolen or destroyed. There was nothing left here for anyone. There was nowhere left but to go into the wilds with the rebels or be slain by Templars._

_But Pharaan, Evie and many others did not want to leave the Circle, and there was another like them, a voice to speak for them who had power enough to protect them._

_Which is why Pharaan silenced the chaos and suggested they would go south, to Skyhold. Where Madam Vivienne, leader of the Loyalist Mages and close companion to the new Inquisitor resided. It was their only hope of survival._

“It was bound to happen sooner or later…” One of the young apprentices of the group grumbled under her breath. The Chasind tattoo that covered her face creasing with her frown. “Now you’ll see how useless circle training is.”

“Freya! Please…” Pharaans’ voice was stern but pleading, and all he could manage out of the girl was a roll of her eyes and a scoff. She did remain silent after that however and he was grateful for that at least.

Aside from Freya and the only Enchanter Evie, they had another two apprentices. The twins Aran and Aras, always seeming lost in their own conversations, when once this gave Enchanter Evie a headache, now seemed a blessing. That the tragedy that had occurred only moments ago did not diminish that innocent and gentle spark the boys had.

All the senior members of the tower that had survived agreed they should travel in small numbers to avoid attention. Pharaan had decided the best course of action would be to travel to Hercinia, the closest city to Ansburg by the sea. Which meant ships, ones that could take them across to Amaranthine, Denerim or wherever they needed. As long as they could firstly reach Fereldan it didn’t matter where they were taken.

The knowledge of Hercinia being ripe with raider activity was both a danger and the source of their ticket to Fereldan. While Pharaan did not wish to collude with that sort, criminals would be the only ones willing enough to smuggle mages past borders.

It was their only hope, and he could only wish this did not end on a boat ride to Tevinter.

 

* * *

 

They were lucky their supplies lasted as long as they had, and Freya’s prior knowledge to life in the wilderness had not been forgotten. They had managed reaching Hercinia with little trouble, and stopped to make camp. Which meant huddling up together by a fire.

“Did you hear that?!”

“Calm down, you can’t jump at every noise you hear.” Freya told the fraught Enchanter, the woman had been on edge as soon as flat planes led to vast trees and dense woods. She clung close to the young apprentice, much to the girl’s annoyance. However, she doubted at any attempt to remove the vice grip the older woman held on her to be of success, and begrudgingly allowed it.

“Maybe it’s a bear.” Aras pondered.

“Maybe it’s **two** bears.” Aran giggled.

“Stop it! Both of you!” Evie pleaded, whimpering and darting her head side to side.

The twins went off into their own private conversation as they nibbled on their food. Pharaan sat on the other side of them, brows creasing at the dissatisfied looks on their faces at their evening meal.

“It won’t be long before we run out of food…”

“Let’s go Buck, you n’ me scouting tonight.”

Buckles tossed away his half-eaten apple and followed the other dwarf out of their base in the woods. With the mage uprising, loads of people left and right came through these forests in desperation. And they always made perfect pickings for a group of highwaymen like the ones Buckles had found himself jumping aboard with.

Even though he wished they’d stick to stealing and leave out the pillaging.

It didn’t take them long to come across new victims, as they quickly scurried into the brush before they could be seen. From the look of them they were mages, like many before them, the robes were a dead give-away. Including the older mage of the group having a staff nearby.

Buckles saw the cogs turning in his companion’s mind, looking back at the group with a hard feeling of dread churned in his stomach.

“Ah come on they got kids with them!” Buckles comments, his voice coming out in a stern and almost irritated tone as he grabs at his companion’s shoulder and shakes him. “Let’s just wait till they fall asleep, and then we can take what we need and go.”

“Who said anything about stealing?” His companion quips with a grin shoving the dwarf away from him. “Vints or Templars will pay nicely for a bunch a’ mages.”

Buckles wasn’t quick enough to stop him, his companion heading straight back for their base to get the others. Groaning as he looked from the unaware mages to the dwarf as he made off quick on his feet back to their base.

Pharaan found it hard to go to sleep, maybe it was Evie’s paranoia rubbing off on him, but something felt off. He places a spell over the children to stop them from waking as well as to protect them. He walks over to his fellow enchanter calming her as she wakes abruptly.

“Evie get up.”

Evie groans, “mmm…what? What?! What’s happened?!”

Pharaan hushes her, he has his staff in hand and they are both now on edge as rustling sounds echoed all around them. Huddling closer together and placing a few more protective wards over the children as a group of dwarves surrounds them.

“Well, well…looks like you two weren’t wrong,” a long bearded dwarf commented, clearly the leader of the group. “Take whatever they got boys but keep em alive, those Templars in the city will pay good to get their hands on some _rebel mages.”_

Evie already had her hand aflame, which set the dwarves to unsheathe their weapons, ready to fight. Pharaan looked around frantically, hand clutching his staff tightly as he tried to figure out how to get them out of this. He did not want to lose them; he would not lose them all like this.

“The Templars will kill them.” Buckles’ proclaims, voice catching the attention of everyone around them. All the other dwarves looking at him with annoyed and harsh glares.

“Yeah….so?”

Buckles pursed his lips, ignoring the unease that tugged in him from having everyone’s eyes in his direction. But He had had enough, he was sick of standing back quietly as innocent people were constantly killed needlessly in their need for gold.

“We don’t have to kill them!” Buckles tells the group voice rising in his annoyance, frown strong and harsh on his face as he tries to rally support.

“Seriously, you guys are worse than brontos in a stampede!”

“Shut up Buck! You’re not losing us another bounty, if you don’t like it fuck off back to base.”

“Base? You mean that building over there?” Pharaan points in the direction of a…’creatively decorated’ shack of a building far out in the distance. This causes several members of the group to start flailing about in frustration.

“Dammit, they know where our base is! We have to kill them now!”

“Obviously people are gonna know where the base is if you never move…” Buckles mutters under his breath but loud enough for them to hear. Hands on his hips and cheeky grinned.

“Shut up Buck!”

“Enough!” Their leader roars, the entire camp and dwarves going silent.

He raises his sword to Buckles, chest rising and falling with every harsh breath from his contained anger.

“You’re not fucking this up for us Buckles, I’ve lost too much good money because of you.”

The two dwarves square off, glaring eye-to-eye. Tension Pharaan picked up on immediately. With a timid clearing of his throat all eyes were on him once again, causing him to laugh nervously before addressing the blonde dwarf everyone had been referring to as ‘Buck’.

“Uh…yes, hello um…Buck was it?”

All eyes darted to Pharaan.

The blonde dwarf perks up at the question, “Buckles actually, if you would.” He corrects with a smile.

“Ah yes alright then, um…clearly you don’t seem to be quite keen on your…associates no?”

All eyes darted to Buckles.

“Maybe…” The blonde dwarf draws out, eyes narrowing on the mage but clearly interested in what he had to say.

All eyes dart to Pharaan.

“Pharaan what are you doing?!” Evie whispered before being immediately hushed and slapped away.

“Would you like to work for us instead?” Pharaan asks.

All eyes turn back to Buckles, albeit more intense and angry than before. Buckles himself seemed unfazed by it, intrigued by this new offer thrown his way.

“What kind of work?”

All eyes go back to Pharaan.

“Uh…a guard? We need to continue travel south, someone with your expertise could be of help.”

Buckles gives a short bark of laughter.

“No kidding! If it’s this quick for you guys to get ambushed you’re gonna need some serious help.”

Pharaan laughed nervously, anything to keep moving things along. Buy them time, and hopefully, buy this dwarf’s loyalty.

“And we could pay…handsomely, you like money right?”

“I do indeed.” Buckles answers with a toothy grin, liking where this was going.

“And there’d be no unnecessary killing involved.”

“I like that as well!”

The remark was finished with a side-eye to his highwaymen companions.

“Enough!” The Highwaymen leader barks in once again, his sword pushed more forcefully against Buckles’ neck. “Fuck the Templars, after I cut you down they’re next, then that’ll teach the whole lot of ya not to fuck with me!”

Buckles gives his leader one last disappointed frown before addressing his new client.

“What’s your name elf?”

Pharaan’s eyes light up, before he moves his staff from hand to hand. Standing tall before giving the dwarf a short bow of greeting.

“You may call me Pharaan, Buckles.”

The dwarf sighs, daggers unsheathing as he; quicker than Pharaan had ever seen anyone do before, lops off the dwarven leaders head. Quickly turning his gaze away from the now dead body.

“Well Pharaan, you’ve got yourself a bodyguard.”

* * *

Pharaan & Buckles (as drawn by Suketchilt):


End file.
